Game over for most soccer clubs in Europe, but not National League

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While the sports world grinds to a halt in almost every country, one soccer league in England is defiantly carrying on.

The National League has decided to keep its season going even as the Premier League, the English Football League and just about every major soccer league in Europe shuts down because of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Most of the league’s games across two divisions went ahead on Saturday with only a handful of matches postponed because of concerns that some players may have come down with the virus. The decision was welcomed by many fans but chastised by some managers who called it an unnecessary risk. “We don’t need to put ourselves in that position, yet we have. It’s stupid,” John Pemberton the manager of Chesterfield FC told the BBC after his team’s 1-1 draw against Dover Athletic.

In King’s Lynn, a small town in eastern England, more than 1,400 people packed into the local stadium to watch King’s Lynn Town FC take on Guiseley AFC. As fans strolled onto the grounds, many expressed amazement the game hadn’t been called off.

“It’s nuts,” said Steve Timberlake as he sipped a beer and watched players warm up. Timberlake said he wasn’t worried about coming in contact with the virus at the stadium but he doubted the league would be able to keep playing much longer. “Probably the last game of the season,” he said.

Not far away, Malcolm Hill shrugged off virus concerns as he sold programs. “My wife was worried about me coming here today,” he said. “I’m not worried at all. Not one bit.” Hill and his wife had returned from Spain on Friday, getting out just before the country went into lockdown and most flights were cancelled. Coronavirus “is serious for people who are older, I’ll admit that,” he added. “But I think more people die from the common flu.”

Some fans, such as Ann Marie Reynolds, felt so certain the game would be postponed that she waited until the last minute to go to the stadium. “I would have been really disappointed if they had cancelled the game," she said. Reynolds works in the local hospital, which has restricted visitors and recently announced that three people had tested positive for the virus. But she thinks the fear about the illness has been overdone. “I think the media is a bit scare-mongering,” she said. “There’s less chance of catching it here than if we were in a pub.”

Britain has 1,372 confirmed cases of the disease and 35 people have died. So far the government has taken a gradual approach to the outbreak. Unlike many other European countries, Britain has not banned large public gatherings, closed schools or restricted travel. Health officials have put a priority on ensuring that sick people self-isolate but they have not ruled out taking further measures. The Scottish government has announced plans to ban outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people and there has been growing pressure on the British government to follow suit. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce more actions this week, including plans to encourage people over the age of 70 to remain at home and prohibitions on large gatherings.

For now the National League won’t be closing down. Officials issued a statement late Saturday thanking fans for their support and pledging to keep reviewing whether to continue the season.

King’s Lynn midfielder Chris Henderson said he felt uncertain about playing on Saturday. “It felt like a weird atmosphere coming here today because we didn’t really know how significant the result would be. We don’t know whether we’ll wake up [Sunday] or Monday and it will be like the season’s done,” he said after the game. “I think most players would have probably rather not played."

A doctor advised players before the game about contact with teammates and fans, but Henderson said there wasn’t much players could do to protect themselves. “I’m worried because I’ve got to go and see my family [Sunday] and you just don’t want to take risks,” he said.

Shortly after the game the team said that its fixture on Monday against Gloucester City had been postponed after several Tigers’ players and staff had gone into isolation with possible coronavirus symptoms.

Like many clubs at this level of English soccer, King’s Lynn has a lot riding on any decision to suspend the season. The National League is in the fifth tier of the English soccer pyramid, below the Premier League and the three divisions of the EFL. Clubs rely largely on ticket sales to stay afloat and even a few lost games would be a substantial hit to revenue.

King’s Lynn is also in second place in the league’s lower division, putting the Linnets in the running for promotion. Moving up a level would mean larger crowds and more sponsorship money. The team’s players are also semi-professional and hold down other jobs that could be at risk because of the virus. Henderson works in construction and he’s worried about what will happen if Britain goes into a lockdown and he can’t earn money from soccer or work.

But for many fans such as Rob Brown, Saturday’s game was a welcome respite from the onslaught of coronavirus news. “It’s scary, you can’t ignore it,” he said between shouts at the referee as King’s Lynn fell behind 1-0. He’s more worried about the economic fallout from the virus than getting sick. As with Henderson, Brown works in construction and he isn’t sure how he’ll pay his mortgage if there’s a lockdown. Coming to the stadium didn’t trouble him at all and he was glad to get a break from thinking about the pandemic. “We just have to carry on,” he said as the game ended with King’s Lynn failing to score. “That’s the British way.”